


Going Places

by DanielleAlice



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Extremely, F/F, M/M, also this is very very loosely based around another fic i read for a different ship, but like, but theres a lil bit of billy and jason in the first two chapters, have fun, i definitely had help from some very wonderful people, just bc it was a damn good fic and i felt like tirmberly deserved a good road trip au, just how i like it, pink lemonade - Freeform, slowburn, slowburn gay, the rating is probably gonna go up, this is mostly based around tirni and kim, this is super gay, trimberly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-03 22:43:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11541948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanielleAlice/pseuds/DanielleAlice
Summary: basically trini needs money, kim needs a ride, they both gotta get somewhere new, and they're both just a little bit scared of the stranger they gotta drive across the country with. then it turns gay. what could be better than that?(Thank you to @widowstorm on tumblr for naming this for me, bc you are the best at coming up with names)





	1. Chapter 1

"Mhm. Yeah. Yep, got it. Okay, Mom."

“Say something to me, Trini!” Her mother all but yells. “It's bad enough you chose to stay behind for another week to do god-knows-what –“

"Say goodbye to my friends?" Trini cuts her mom off, displaying her irritation. As often as they move, she has never allowed herself to make friends. She knew she couldn't handle leaving people she grew close to. But this time friends found her, and she had no choice but to give in to such a wonderful opportunity.

"Whatever it is you're doing," her mom continues, determined her daughter was up to other shenanigans, "I know we should never have let you stay behind.” She takes a deep breath, as if she’s actually trying to allow herself to be calm for even a moment. “Your father put enough money in your account to get to Portland from Phoenix - as much as I tried to tell him it was ridiculous that we had to pay for your little extension. I want you home by the 11th." Yeah, her composure didn’t last long.

That last sentence caught Trini’s attention, "the 11th? Mom that's three days, it’d take me nearly that long if I don't take any stops, there's no way-"

"Figure it out," her mom cuts her off, before the line goes silent.

Trini throws her phone onto her nearly deflated air matress and sighs. She's used to this from her mom, so it doesn't upset her as much as it used to - but she still has to keep herself calm, because, well, someone has to. Especially when her mom is expecting her to somehow drive 2000 miles without eating, sleeping, or stopping for gas.

 _Gas_.

Trini looks to her makeshift bed and grabs her phone. Seeing she has a text from her dad, she opens her messaging app.

 **Dad:** "Hey Trin, I'm sorry we can't afford to give you much, but I put $100 in your account for the trip up here. Sorry we couldn't manage a plane ticket for you. Love you, drive safe."

Trini was starting to feel like she sighed more than she breathed when she spoke with her family. She knows her father means well, and he always tries to be so nice to her. Of course he’s just trying his best to diffuse the tension her mom – so effortlessly - brings on, but she appreciates it nonetheless.

However, $100 was not going to get her across the U.S.

_Thunk_

A loud thud from the window brings her attention away from her current dilemma. Trini smiles, knowing exactly what caused the noise.

She opens the window to her bedroom and looks down at her to close friends, Zack and Billy. "You're going to wake the whole house if you keep throwing pine cones, loser!"

Zack laughs, "We know you're all alone in there, crazy girl, come let us in!"

Trini smiles and shuts her window before heading down the stairs of her now empty house - side from a suitcase of her necessities and the air mattress with some random bedding she found in the attic. She looks around at the barren rooms as she makes her way to the front, wishing she felt something – anything – for this place that her family use to spend their lives together in, but she just cant. It’s just a house, just like all of the other houses she’s been in. it’s nothing more than a resting point until their next move. Just like the house before, and just like the houses in the future will be.

She opens her front door ceremoniously to allow her friends into her space.

"Why the tired eyes?" Billy asks. He's always been one to point out when he notices something is off. Candidness is one of Trini’s favorite things about him.

Trini feels herself, once again, sigh deeply.

"My mom genuinely believes I can get to their new home by the 11th with $100. It's like she doesn't expect me to eat or sleep or -" she cuts herself off; too tired to go through the thoughts she was previously dwelling on again. “There's just no way that's going to happen.”

"The 11th? That's three days, if you leave tonight! There is no way. It's like a 40 hour drive nonstop, isn't it?" Zach starts, visibly getting upset for his friend.

"Yeah," Trini replies softly, suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. She appreciates how deeply her friends care for her, like they always have, but there’s really not much any of them can do this time around.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Billy asks, matching Trini softness.

Trini takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment, before gaining her confidence and looking up again. "I'm going to find a way to get some easy cash, and I'm going to take that and run with it." Her voice is firm, sure. Her friends can feel themselves start to perk up at her contagious energy.

She gets a big smile on her face. "But first, we are going to Krispy Kreme."

The boys whoop at that and practically drag Trini out of her house at the idea of donuts.

Yeah. She's really going to miss them.

…

"You've got chocolate all over your face, Zack." Trini says to her messy friend, in what could almost be a motherly tone.

"I'm saving it for later," he replies with an ever-widening grin. Trini rolls her eyes and goes in for the last chocolate sprinkle donut.

"You're just jealous you didn't think of it first," Zack stage whispers in a mocking tone, making a point to leave the large smear of icing on his cheek.

"So where do you plan on getting the extra money for your trip, Trin?" Billy asks suddenly, after pulling himself out of what seems to be a deep trance.

Trini takes a moment to adjust to the sudden reminder of having to leave Phoenix, and lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. "Honestly Billy, I have no idea. Why, did you think of something?" She asks hesitantly, afraid to let herself get too excited.

Billy looks down momentarily, suddenly feeling sheepish with the attention on him. "Yes. I mean, sort of. I know someone, who knows someone else, who needs a ride to the Eastern United States because she doesn't have a car, but she does have money. I know that because Jason was telling me about her, and asked me to let him know if I knew anyone who had a car she could 'hitch a ride in'- his words, not mine-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down Billy!" Zach interrupts, making Billy realize he had quickly lost both of his friends.

“Ok,” Trini pauses, trying to take in all of the information she just recieved. "You said you know a girl who has the money but needs a ride, right?" She asks slowly, the feeling of relief creeping over her, only to be pushed back by further hesitancy.

"Well, not exactly. I don't know her, Jason knows her and told me about her situation," Billy corrects.

"And who is Jason?" Zack speaks up once again; confusion still spread like jam across him face.

Billy goes quiet for a moment and smiles to himself, "He's, uh, my boyfriend."

"He’s your _what_?" Trini and Zack all but yell, simultaneously, causing several other Krispy Kreme goers to glare at the group of teens.

"You mean I'm about to leave _right_ when you get a boyfriend? When were you planning on telling us about him?" Trini continues, incredulous.

"Right now!" Billy replies, a smile plastered on his face.

"Well when do we get to meet him, dude?" Zack asks, excitedly.

"We can go now, if you want," Billy replies, mirroring Zack's excitement, already cleaning up his donut mess to leave.

…

They’re driving to the abandoned gold mine in Trini’s banged up Jeep Wrangler, with Billy excitedly sitting in the passenger’s seat, and Zack in the back, leaning far too close to the front two seats to possibly be wearing a seatbelt (against Trini’s behest.)

“There he is! We can stop here.” Billy points excitedly to the small dip in the side of the mountain they were driving up to. It’s the perfect place, right where the mine security never seems to look. It’s the place where Zack, Trini, and Billy first met. Fate really seemed to bring them together that day.

Trini had just moved to Phoenix and found this spot. She came here to escape her family and just be alone for a few hours, which worked perfectly until Billy happened to stumble upon her, holding a big metal briefcase full of wires and other sketchy looking materials. Trini didn’t even realize he was there until she felt the ground start to shake and opened her eyes just in time to see both Billy and Zack running toward her, yelling at her to run. They all ran just fast enough to not be crushed by a landslide of rocks. After the chaos, Trini sat up and dusted herself off, ready to yell at these two kids for ruining her moment of peace – and nearly killing all of them – before she saw both of them laughing their asses off at the asinine situation. Before she could even react to the strange boys, Zack had stood up and helped both of them up, telling them about how he had been bird watching from the top of the abandoned train and saw the moment the mountain looked like it was about to cave in. As badly as Trini wanted to turn around, find a new place to hide, and never see them again, she ended up coming back every day, secretly hoping she would run into them again. She did, of course, and it became kind of a weekly tradition for them to camp out on the side of the mountain and just talk. Trini longed for those nights every week because it was something she never had before meeting them.

Trini smiles fondly at the memory as she puts her car in park, and spots Billy’s boyfriend standing directly in the spot she stood on her first day in Phoenix.

"Zack, Trini, this is Jason. Jason, this is Zack and this is Trini." Billy stands between his friends, nervously excited that three of the best people in his life are finally meeting.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you guys, Billy talks about you all the time. It's good to finally put a face to the names." Jason introduces himself, slightly rambling. It's obvious he's nervous about meet his boyfriend's best friends.

"Funny, he's never mentioned you before," Trini snidely remarks, making sure to let this new guy know who he has to deal with, if he hurts one of her closest friends.

Billy cuts in quickly, "Oh yeah, there's a reason for that. You see, Jason is - or, was - on the football team at his college, and he didn't want to deal with coming out during the school year. So, he asked if I could keep us a secret until summer, since he's not continuing football next year anyway."

Trini visibly relaxes at that. She understands not wanting people to know something about you that could put you in danger with the people you're around. She keeps her guard up, though, only giving Jason a firm nod of understanding.

"It's nice to meet you, dude. Don't mind Trin, she's just the protective type. I always say it'll make her a good girlfriend someday, eh?" Zach nudges Trini after his playful attempt to lighten the mood, giving her a big smile.

"You have literally never said that to me in your life." Trini retorts, keeping a straight face to her friend.

"But I've thought it dozens of times, which has gotta count for something, right?" Zack’s smile persists; he’s making it clear he's not giving Trini a chance to win this one.

"Well technically, that's not out loud, so I wouldn't say so..." Billy remarks thoughtfully.

"I've got to agree with Billy on this one," Jason follows up.

"You're only saying that because he's your boyfriend. That's definitely cheating." Zack pouts. Looks like Trini won without even trying.

Trini speaks up, certainly not feeling like a winner, and desperate for the argument of whether or not Zack talks aloud about her ability to date well, to cease. "Uh, Billy told me you have a friend who needs a ride? I kind of need the gas money and my car has a lot of leg room." She turns to Jason again to speak, trying her best to sell herself, and willfully ignoring the voice in her head telling her not to trust a random stranger to help her drive across the country.

"Yeah! Her name is Kim, she's a blast. If you want, I could give you her number so you two could try to figure it out?"

Hesitantly Trini nods, handing Jason her phone. Jason smiles, puts in Kim’s number, and hands Trini back her phone. He looks over to check out Trini’s Jeep. “That’s your ride?” He asks enthusiastically.

Trini gives him an odd look and nods quietly. Jason’s smile only grows, “Oh, Kim’s gonna like you.”

Trini feels her face go red at that comment.

…

Later that evening, Trini is lying on her mostly-deflated air mattress, exhausted from a day of interaction with people. She looks at her phone and breaths through her teeth, deciding that now or never is the time to text this Kim girl.

 **(623)555-2437:** Hey, is this Kim? Jason gave me your number; he told me you needed a ride?

Trini slams her phone down after sending the text. _This is the dumbest idea you've ever had, Trini. What if this girl is like, a Secret Killer? What if her thing is getting unsuspecting 19 year old girls to drive her across the country, and killing them in a motel halfway there? What if she's already planning how she's going to_ -

_Buzz, buzz._

**Kim (Road Trip Girl):** Yeah! Jason told me you'd be texting. I really need to get to New York by the end of the summer, but I don't have a car and I hate planes. I can pay for meals, and gas, and stuff if that's a problem at all!

 _Gas and meals? That's definitely more than I was hoping for_ , Trini thinks to herself.

 **The Ride TM:** That would be great, actually. I've got a car, but I've only got $100 for the whole trip so I'll definitely need some help with money.

 **Kim (Road Trip Girl):** Then it looks like Fate has brought us together! We've got exactly what the other needs. When's the soonest you're able to head out?

 **The Ride TM:** Um, tomorrow?

 **Kim (Road Trip Girl):** Perfect! If I can just get your address, I'll meet you tomorrow at noon?

 **The Ride TM:** Oh, yeah, that works great actually.

After Trini gives Kim her address, she puts her phone on its charge and tries to go to sleep, but all she can think of is all the things that could possibly go wrong on this road trip, with a girl she's never met before.  
  
_What if she tries to kill me?_  
_What if she’s a homophobe? Or like, only with girls?_  
_What if we don’t get along and have to travel 2000 miles with each other in strained silence?_  
_What if-_

A loud, angry growl comes from her stomach. She closes her eyes slowly and lets out a slow breath

 _No matter what, she said she'd buy me food, and I'm fucking starving,_ Trini thinks before finally allowing herself to drift to sleep, despite all the worries swimming through her head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> getting gayer kids, getting gayer.  
> please enjoy billy and jason being adorable, zack being a dork, kim being pretty and kinda awk, and trini being gay as hell,

"Crazy girl! Yo, where you at?"

 

Trini opens her hazy eyes, angry at the muffled yelling she hears from outside. She glances at her too-bright phone for just long enough to see it's 12:14 in the afternoon.

 

_Fuck_.

 

She bolts out of bed, trying her best to ignore the panic rising in her stomach. They haven’t even met yet, and she’s already given a bad first impression to her car mate. She rubs her face while quickly stumbling to the window. She looks down to see the familiar sight of her two best friends.

 

"Oh, now you get up! Come let us in before your neighbors get pissed at my yelling!" Zack shouts - purposely getting louder towards the end of his statement - up to his annoyed friend.

 

"I'm sure they've been pissed since you got here," Trini retorts before heading downstairs to open her front door, still in her PJs.

 

She opens the door to her very excited friends, rolling her eyes playfully as she steps aside to let them in. She notices Kim is missing and, for a moment, worries that she’s been bailed on and is going to have to find a new means of money for her trip. That panic feeling in her stomach is definitely starting to become more noticeable.

 

"Jason said Kim is going to be a bit late, mostly because he’s her ride and he wanted to stop and get us all some lunch - well, breakfast for you - anyway, I hope you don't mind," Billy says kindly as he stepped in.

 

Trini sighs a deep breath of relief, glad Billy's boyfriend is as prompt as her. She internally curses herself for being so quick to panic. "That's actually... perfect," She replies, pausing to look down at her pajamas. "How long do you think I have?"

 

"According to Jason," Billy pauses, looking at his phone, "exactly 7 minutes and... 28 seconds." He looks up to see Trini has already run back upstairs to get ready. He looks at Zack, obviously questioning her panic.

 

"Looks like _somebody_ is already whipped for her hot new car mate," Zack half-heartedly whispers in response.

 

"I heard that, Z!" Trini yells from behind a closed bedroom door, only causing Zach to laugh loudly in response.

 

"But we haven't even seen her yet?" Billy questions.

 

“That is true, but we also know that Trini has a total weakness for a girl who can make plans quickly, if you know what I mean,” Zack nudges Billy with his elbow and winks.

 

“I really don’t” Billy says matter-of-factly, confusion spread across his face.

 

His smiling friend simply laughs, changing the subject. "Did Jason actually tell you they're exactly 7 minutes and 28 seconds from being here?"

 

"Not exactly, he told me they would be here at 12:25. I did the math myself."

 

"And how often is Jason as prompt as you?"

 

"Not often," Billy replies, after a moment of thought.

 

_Ding dong_

 

"I've got it, Trin!" Zack yells upstairs as he walks back to the front door. He opens it to see a smiling familiar face, and a seemingly nervous new face. He smiles brightly as he allows them to come into his friend’s house, his mind already working on all the jokes he can make at Trini’s expense because, wow, this girl is _definitely_ her type.

 

"You're a minute early!" Billy exclaims excitedly as he goes to greet his boyfriend and friend.

 

Jason laughs slightly, turning to Kim as they step inside, carrying what looks like ten pounds of Chinese takeout. "I told you he would comment about the time." He turns back to Billy, “Kim gave me a shortcut that my GPS didn’t know, apparently one of her other friends lives around here so she know the ins and outs pretty well.” He shakes his head, realizing he was getting ahead of himself.

 

"Sorry, that was rude of me; I haven’t even introduced everyone yet. Kim, this is Billy and Zack. I met Zack yesterday. And Billy, Zack, this is, of course, Kim.” He smiles at himself before his expression changes to confusion, recognizing that their party is missing a body. “Where's Trini?" He asks, looking around at the barren house for the familiar face he met the day before. He walks into the kitchen to set down everyone’s food, hoping for a response he can hear.

 

"I'm coming, I'm right here, sorry, sorry! I'm ready." Trini's voice appears - quickly giving Jason the answer he was searching for - followed by the sight of her trying her best not to stumble down the stairs. Her previously Pajama-clad body is now wearing her signature yellow shirt, jacket, jeans, and of course a grey beanie.

 

Once she reaches the bottom, she fully takes in the group of friends in front of her. Particular attention is paid to the fresh face, however. She can feel herself get warm in the cheeks just from looking at the angelic girl in front of her. She stutters in spite of herself, looking at who she can only assume is Kim. All Trini can seem to think of in this very moment is how amazing this new girl’s smile is, and how her eyes sparkle so purely, like nothing she's never seen before.

 

"Hey, uh, Trin," Zack cuts off her thoughts, getting her attention. "I think your staring is making new girl over here a little uneasy," Zack says, trying his best not to laugh at his very gay friend.

 

Trini feels herself go beet red at this public announcement of her admiration. She looks back and forth at everyone and sputters, unable to think of a way to get herself out of this. She is really regretting this whole setup right now.

 

"Hi, I'm Kimberly. Most people call me Kim," Kim speaks up, reaching out her hand, kind of awkwardly, and giving Trini a reassuring look.

 

Trini feels herself relax at the sound of her voice, because, wow, it's as lovely as her eyes. And her smile. And her, well, everything else.

 

"I'm, uh... Trini. But you already knew that," Trini replies awkwardly, cursing herself for not knowing how to talk to pretty girls. She stares down at Kim’s hand like she’s never seen anyone introduce themselves with the shake of a hand before, and somehow forgets how to politely respond to a personal introduction. Kim awkwardly retrieves her hand, unsure of herself.

 

"Well, I smell Chinese, which means its lunch time,” Zack speaks up, quickly sensing the tension and doing his best to relieve it. Trini, suddenly remembering the other people in the room, looks to his whereabouts, behind Kim, and catches a quick wink from her oh-so-subtle friend. She rolls her eyes at him.

 

The hungry group of friends go into the kitchen and split up the ungodly amount of food between the five of them, they spend most of their time listening to Jason and Billy talk about how they met, and their eventual coming together. The other three listen thoughtfully, watching their mutual friends just be happy together. It makes Trinis heart ache in the best way to see her friend so happy with someone, and as much as she wants to be weary of Jason, he really just seems like the best guy for Billy.

 

In the midst of listening to Billy tell them about a time when he accidentally walked into the locker room at Jason’s college at the _wrong_ moment, Trini finds herself dozing off, stealing glances at Kim, who is completely entranced in the stories being shared that she doesn’t even notice Trini’s gaze. Without realizing it, Trini can’t even hear Billy’s voice anymore. Instead all she hears is her heartbeat thumping heavier and heavier in her ears as she takes longer glances at Kim, noticing small subtle things about her. How her hair falls just slightly over the side of her face, mostly held back by the ear it was just tucked behind. How her breathing is so calm and steady, almost hypnotic. How her lips twitch up slightly in response to highlighted moments of Billy’s stories.

 

“Hey, it’s nearly 1:30, shouldn’t you guys get on the road soon?” Zack’s voice cuts off Trini’s train of thought, causing her to shake herself out of her trance. She looks over at her friend to see a knowing smile. Yeah, she’s definitely been caught staring.

 

"Actually, that'd be perfect," Jason adds. "Billy and I have a date tonight and I have got to get ready for it. Not to rush you out the door or anything," he adds quickly, not wanting to offend his boyfriend's seemingly very testy friend.

 

"I'm all ready if you are," Kim says brightly to Trini, before she can even think of a response to Jason and Zack.

 

Trini looks at Kim again, this time making sure to look only at her eyes, in attempt to keep herself from completely gaying-out (which doesn’t work as well as she had hoped it would.) She gives a ghost of a smile before nodding once, firmly.

 

"Let's do this."

 

 ...

 

Trini walks around the house that used to be hers one last time, making sure she hadn't left anything. She shuts her bedroom door, and steps one last time into what was her brothers’ bedroom. She notices a small action figure in the middle of the floor. Smiling to herself, she goes to pick it up, sliding it into her jacket pocket as she walks out of the room.

 

Confident that the house is empty, she walks down the stairs and into the living room with her bursting suitcase; filled to the brim with a few outfits and her stubbornly packed air mattress. She’s pretty sure it’ll probably tear the zipper, but honestly doesn't care, after the fight she just had to get it in there. She reaches the bottom of the stairs and ceremoniously drops the heavy suitcase at her feet, smiling up satisfactorily at her solemn friends. The look they share hits Trini with the reality of the situation. This may just be another move; but this time, it’s a move that leaves behind two of the best friends she’s ever had.

 

"Looks like this is goodbye crazy girl," Zack says softly, trying his best to keep the mood light while losing one of his closest friends. "You better come to visit, even if it means being a stripper for a few months so you can afford it." He pauses and gets a mischievous smile. "Or, you could road trip back with your cute car mate, I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping with the expenses." He comments suggestively, making an otherwise fairly innocent statement seem unnecessarily sexual.

 

Trini glares at her goofy friend, "I was almost going to miss you until you said that."

 

"Aw, come on, you know you're going to miss seeing this beautiful face every day," Zack teases.

 

Trini turns to Billy, making a point to ignore Zack. "I'm going to miss you Billy. Keep me updated on your gold mining, and everything with Jason. Try not to blow anyone else up, and don't hesitate to let me know if I need to drive back and kick some boyfriend ass, because I will."

 

Billy Smiles brightly. "You won't need to do that, don't worry Trini. He's really nice. I'll send you pictures of everything exciting that happens here!" he pauses for a moment, his smile never faltering, before adding “And I technically never blew anyone up in the first place.”

 

Trini gives a sad smile to her friends. She glances out of the window to see Kim and Jason stuffing her things into the trunk of Trini's car. She looks back to her friends and takes a deep breath, bringing a serious demeanor to the room. "I'm really going to miss you guys." She can feel her tears welling up, and gets irritated with herself, wiping them away quickly. "Ugh, this is why I don't make friends."

 

"What, afraid of a little emotion?" Zack teases, before pulling her into a bear hug. "You're an adult now, they have less control than they used to," he whispers for only Trini to here. "I'll still be here, so will Billy. You aren't losing us that easy, dude." He pulls her an arm's length away, his hands firmly on her shoulders, and looks her in the eyes, a smile growing on his face once more.

 

"Plus, I mean, this can’t be _that_ bad. You get to drive across the country with that cute girl outside," he says with a teasing glint his eye, taking one last opportunity to mess with his exasperated friend.

 

 ...

 

"I don't know, Jason, what if this was a bad idea? We don't even know her," Kim asks, trying to flatten her belongings into the trunk as much as possible, to leave room for Trini's. She curses herself for having so much _stuff_ ; even Trini’s huge trunk may not leave enough room for both of them. She sighs, hoping to herself that Trini packs lightly.

 

"I know, but she's one of Billy's closest friends, and I trust that Billy has good judgment," Jason reassures his friend, watching her as she deals with her bags, and showing no initiative to help. He’s definitely having way too much fun watching her struggle with this.

 

"And I trust you,” Kim replies, pausing to take a breather and turning to fully face her friend. “But did you see her face when she came downstairs? She looked ready to turn around and run. I don't think she really got a great initial impression of me. I don't even know what I did wrong!" Kim leans against the car, defeated.

 

Jason sighs. "Yeah, don't take that personally, I think she's like that with everyone. She sized me up the first time I met her."

 

Kim pauses for a moment. "Jason, she's like, almost a foot shorter than you. How could she possibly size you up?" She smiles, holding back her laughter at the idea.

 

Jason playfully slaps Kim on the arm. "You know what I mean. I think she's just hesitant because you're new.”

 

“Well, she probably didn’t exactly like you because she’s protective of her friend, and you’re kind of his first boyfriend.” Kim retorts, her momentary lapse of joy falling back into a state of worry. “As far as I know, I haven’t done anything to make her react like this,” she adds, trying to remember all of their interactions so far, and unable to recall anything that could possibly have caused Trini not to like her – yet, at least.

 

Jason just sighs, wishing he could do more to help his friend, but they both know how badly she needs this ride. “Billy says she doesn't really make friends quickly."

 

"Great," Kim comments sarcastically. "I've got to be on the road for at _least_ 3 days with someone who doesn't want a new friend." She rubs her forehead, internally trying to decide if she should tough out her fear of planes and catch a last-minute plane ticket to New York, instead of dealing with the horribly awkward tension that is bound to appear in this metal prison on wheels.

 

"You ready princess?" Kim looks up, her thoughts cut off by the comment from the small, hard looking girl walking towards the car.

 

"Princess?" Kim teases, feeling a strange, unfamiliar flush over her face. She hopes she can lighten the mood as soon as possible, even if that means having the pry the mask off of this girl.

 

A split second of hesitation - fear, almost - can be seen in Trini's eyes, quickly covered up once more by her guarded persona. "I was just saying, because you wear a lot of pink - princesses like pink, right?" She speaks quickly, trying to cover her embarrassment. It’s obvious she’s avoiding looking at her road mate, for what may be more than just fear of further unease.

 

Kim smiles warmly at her. "Does that mean I can call you sunflower?"

 

Trini looks at her for just a second too long, an unreadable expression on her face. Kim can feel herself start to get uneasy under the eyes of the undecipherable girl.

 

"Who's driving first?" Trini finally asks, breaking eye contact with Kim to put her belongings in the remaining space of her trunk.

 

"I can, if you want. I can drive for about 7 hours at a time. We should be able to make it to Albuquerque, New Mexico with one or two stops - for gas and dinner - in about that time. Then we can find a cheap motel, or something, to sleep for the night," Kim responds cheerfully, eager to get on this girl's good side as soon as possible.

 

Trini looks at her reluctantly at the mention of a motel, before nodding. "All right, sounds good." She shuts the trunk and turns one last time to her friends to wave goodbye, before getting in the passenger seat, leaving Kim to say her own goodbyes. She looks around, making sure she's got everything she wants to have within reach fro the long road ahead.

 

"Okay!" The door opens suddenly, slightly startling Trini. She watches as Kim gets into the driver's seat of her car, looking over all of the mechanisms to get a feel for the new vehicle. Trini can't help but watch her in awe, wondering how someone doing something as simple as looking at the workings of a car can look so beautiful and graceful. Kim looks over at Trini, causing her to look down at her lap quickly.

 

"I think I'm all set! Let's do this," Kim says as she grabs the keys from the console to start the car. She starts the car and pulls out of the driveway, waving one last time to Jason and his friends.

 

Trini slumps down in her seat, getting herself comfortable for the long road ahead, and pulls out her phone.

 

**Trini (The Coolest):** Hey Billy, just to double-check, this girl definitely isn't a serial killer or anything, right?

 

**The Nice Friend:** What? Of course not! I think Jason would have at least warned me. Why, did she say something that made you think she might be?

 

**Trini (The Coolest):** Nah, just wanted to double-check.

 

**The Nice Friend:** Oh, okay! Also, did you change your name in my phone again?

 

**Trini (The Coolest):** Bye, Billy, I'll miss you! (Yes I did)

 

Trini sets down her phone and looks out the window, watching what she has slowly grown familiar with over the past year, disappear behind them.

 

Serial killer or not, there's no turning back now. Trini silently hopes to herself that this girl will at least be decent enough to kill her in a _somewhat_ nice motel room.

 

(And whether that means in a serial killer way or in a gay way, Trini isn't quite sure)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as we can see, Trini is still stuck on the serial killer thing but lets be real who wouldn't be.
> 
> Thoughts? Concerns? Suggestions???? Gay??????
> 
> I would just like to add that I had the first two chapters written ahead of time and just needed to edit them before posting, so please do not expect chapter 3 to be posted as quickly as chapter 2 was, bc my lame gay ass hasn't even started it yet. (I'm trying I really am)
> 
> also, again feel free to tell me I'm a dumbass if my grammar is shit in this chapter as well
> 
> thnx for stopping by, can't wait to see ya again

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think? ideas of what you think might happen? suggestions to make it better? I'm all ears?
> 
> show of hands, who all thinks kim is gonna be a serial killer?
> 
> next chapter will be up next Tuesday (Possibly sooner?) make sure not to miss the latest addition of my lame gay storytelling
> 
> also: please don't hesitate to let me know about spelling/grammatical errors, I tried to catch them but I can only do so much with my biased head


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